Dawnleaf
by Dawn-Leaf21
Summary: Dawnkit and her friends want to be CloudClan warriors sooner, so they sneak out of camp to go hunting, trying to prove their capability to their leader. Dawnkit faces more troubling decisions as she grows older. What will happen when she meets a handsome StoneClan warrior?
1. Prologue

~Dawnleaf~ a Warriors Fan Fiction

Prologue

Two cats, one a tom with golden tabby fur, the other a she-cat blessed with a beautiful snow-coloured pelt, sat amongst brambles forming a cave-like structure above their heads. The white she-cat was curled around a tiny, cream-coloured kit, wrapping her tail over her to protect her from the icy breeze. Both parents knew it wasn't likely their kit would survive the leafbare cold, but they were still determined to try. At that moment, another she-cat pushed through the swaying vines at the entrance of the bramble cave, clenching wrapped leaves in her teeth. She crouched down beside the white cat and dropped the leaves at her paws, the wind ruffling her white-and-brown fur.

"Here, Snowypelt," she urged, nudging the leaf bundle closer. "Please eat these, it will help."

Snowypelt sighed. "Will she survive, Frostleaf?" she asked, sadness and defeat flooding her blue eyes.

Frostleaf was CloudClan's medicine cat and Snowypelt's sister, she would know. "Of course she will," Frostleaf replied. "Now eat."

Snowypelt obediently lapped up the leaves. Her tabby mate leant over and started to rub the kits fur with his nose to keep her warm. Frostleaf nodded at him approvingly.

"Great, Goldenstripe," she meowed. "Keep doing that, you need to keep her as warm as possible."

Goldenstripe nodded mutely.

"What will you name her?" he murmured to Snowypelt after a few moments silence.

Snowypelt's blue gaze was fixed beyond the tangled curtain of vines at the entrance of the bramble nursery, at the sky streaked with shades of pink, blue, orange and the shadows of dark trees framing it. She watched spots of water drip off leaves like tiny diamonds and let the surprisingly pleasant breeze blow past her white pelt. Despite the cold, near leafbare weather, she had chosen the perfect name for her kit.

"Snowypelt?" Goldenstripe asked, unsure of if she had heard him or not.

Snowypelt looked down at their kit, her eyes shining in admiration at her cream pelt and snowy white paws and chest. She looked like her and Goldenstripe crossed together.

"Dawnkit," Snowypelt replied, looking into her mate's green gaze. "If that's okay with you."

"It's perfect," Goldenstripe told her, pressing his muzzle to hers.

"I, for one, think it suits her just fine," Frostleaf commented, standing up to leave. "I will visit you tomorrow, Snowypelt," she promised, leaning forward to touch noses with her sister.

"My dear sister," Snowypelt whispered. "Thank you so much for helping Dawnkit and us." The two were very close kin.

Frostleaf pulled away to bow her head respectfully. "It is my very pleasure. The very reason I became a medicine cat, to help," she responded.

"Goodbye, Frostleaf," meowed Snowypelt.

"Goodbye." Frostleaf disappeared through the lichen-covered opening.


	2. Chapter 1

~Dawnleaf~

Chapter 1

Dawnkit's POV

I blinked away the pale rays of sunshine that dappled the nursery's stone floor yellow and pushed closer into my mother's fluffy white fur. I could hear Stonekit, Mistkit and Angelkit's loud yowls outside and didn't want to be disturbed from my sleep. I felt something poke into my side and flicked my black-tipped ears irritably. _Leave me alone_ , I thought tiredly, and then I was prodded again.

"Dawnkit, wake up," said the familiar voice of my den mate, Mistkit.

I opened one of my eyes to see Mistkit's pretty, silvery-blue pelt and pale yellow eyes. "I've been awake this whole time, thanks to your loud noises," I grumbled, opening my other eye and sitting up, neatly wrapping my tail over my paws.

I felt my mother, Snowypelt, move behind me. "Now, don't be rude to your den mates," the white queen purred in her sweet voice.

"They all woke me!" I protested.

"Get used to it, Dawnkit," another queen meowed from behind. "These are my kits we're talking about." I craned my neck to look over Snowypelt's back and saw Petalfall, a tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat and mother of Stonekit, Mistkit and Angelkit.

"Hey!" Mistkit exclaimed, pretending to be offended. The two queens exchanged a glance and let out purrs of amusement, as if they shared an inside joke.

"Go on," Snowypelt nudged me. "Play with your friends."

 _Well,_ I thought, _Angelkit_ _isn't exactly what you'd call a friend_. But I didn't object.

"Fine," I answered, stepping out of my comfortable, mossy basket. Mistkit and I stepped out of the warm nursery and into the cold morning air. I shivered.

"But don't go far!" I heard my mother call as my paws sunk into snow in the camp clearing. I twitched my tail in response, showing I'd heard.

In the snow-filled clearing, I spotted Stonekit and Angelkit tumbling after a ball of moss, barely visible in the thick layer of snow. A hunting patrol, consisting of Redfeather, Icefur and a cat I didn't recognise, a black tabby she-cat I assumed was an apprentice, were returning with thin mice in their mouths. I had been out of the nursery numerous times before, and this was probably an average day.

"Hey, Dawnkit."

I looked to my left and saw Stonekit's familiar, fluffy grey fur and twinkly amber eyes. He pushed the ball towards me with his forepaw. I smiled and nudged the ball into the air, using my nose. It soared in a small arc across the sky.

"I'll get it!" screeched Mistkit, running forward before slipping and face planting into a heap of snow.

Stonekit leapt over her, trying to catch it on his head, but it bonked him on the nose and he fell on top of his sister dramatically. Mistkit pushed him off playfully and shook snowflakes from her silvery fur. I purred in amusement. I had taken a liking to these two. I noticed the ball had landed a few mouse-lengths away and lunged at it, grabbing it my teeth. I started to turn when I felt something grab my back.

"GAAAAAAHHH!" I faked a scream as Stonekit's large, but gentle, grey paws dragged at my sides.

Mistkit jumped in my face. "I am an evil ForestClan warrior, do you surrender?" she said as Stonekit started tickling me with his tail.

I couldn't help laughing.

"Never!" I shouted, wriggling away from Stonekit's grasp. I scampered away, only to be knocked over by Mistkit.

"Surrender!" Mistkit roared. Now both of them were tickling me, laughing.

"Spare me, oh great warrior!" I said, flinging the ball ahead of us.

At that moment, a sleek ginger-and-white kit gracefully leapt towards the ball of moss, picking it up in her claws. _Angelkit_ , I gritted my teeth.

"Why does _she_ have to play?" Angelkit complained, eyeing me coldly.

"Why do you have to be so rude?" Mistkit retorted, standing up for me. I silently thanked her.

Angelkit glared at her sister and me in turn. She was probably angry that Mistkit had a comeback. "I was going inside anyway," she muttered, strutting off into the nursery.

I realised I had been holding my breath and let it out a little too loudly. Angelkit and I had never really got along, but I couldn't figure out why.

Stonekit leaned nearer to my ear. "Don't worry, she's only jealous of you," he said quietly, seeming to answer my thoughts. _Jealous? Why?_ I looked at him questioningly. Stonekit just smirked and walked over to Mistkit.

"It's getting cold. Coming, Dawnkit?" Mistkit inquired.

I nodded distractedly, thinking about what Stonekit just said. What had he meant?


	3. Allegiances

Allegiances

CloudClan

Leader: Cloudstar- white she-cat with grey-tipped ears and green eyes

Deputy: Stormheart- grey tabby tom with purple-ish tinge and violet eyes

Medicine Cat: Frostleaf- white she-cat with brown tabby splotches, one yellow eye, one brown eye

Warriors:

Goldenstripe- golden tabby tom with green eyes

Sweetberry- black-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

Rumblestorm- plump pale brown tabby tom with yellow eyes

Echoheart- black-and-white tom with amber eyes

Firetail- speckled ginger tom with white underbelly and amber eyes

Mossshade- black tabby she-cat with brown dash on chest and green eyes

Tigerwing- ginger tabby she-cat with dark brown stripes and bright green eyes

Icefur- slender blue tom with tufts on ear tips and green-blue eyes

Flamefur- ginger tom with amber eyes

Ashwind- dark grey tom with blue eyes

Oaktail- light brown tom with white underbelly and amber eyes

Redfeather- dark red she-cat with fiery pale amber eyes

Snowypelt- pretty white she-cat with blue eyes

Petalfall- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentices:

Dawnpaw- pretty cream she-cat with white paws, underbelly and chest, black tipped ears and blue eyes

Stonepaw- big, thick-furred grey tom with deep amber eyes

Mistpaw- silvery blue she-cat with pale yellow eyes

Angelpaw- white-and-pale ginger she-cat with blue eyes

Elders:

Greyfoot- grey tom with green eyes

Shadepool- black she-cat with grey-tipped tail and yellow eyes

Leopardclaw- spotted golden she-cat with amber eyes

StoneClan

Leader: Stonestar- silver tom with yellow eyes

Deputy: Oakstorm- big light brown tabby tom with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Dustnettle-brown tabby tom with pale green eyes

Warriors:

Littleriver- small grey-brown tabby tom with blue eyes

Willowstorm- white she-cat with grey splotches and amber eyes

Shadowfoot- creamy white tom with black paws and blue eyes

Sandstep- sandy she-cat with green eyes

Bramblethorn- brown tom with darker ear tips and amber eyes

Tanglebranch- pale brown tom with darker paws and chest and amber eyes

Pricklebush- red-brown tabby tom with green eyes

Snakefoot- grey tom with snake bite in one leg, yellow eyes

Apprentices:

Copperpaw- handsome dark brown tabby tom with pale blue eyes

Emeraldpaw- pale brown tom with the brightest, most dazzling emerald green eyes

Queens:

Sunfur- golden she-cat with dappled coat and amber eyes, mother to Foxkit and Owlkit

Kits:

Foxkit- speckled reddish-brown tom with darker, fox-like ears and brown eyes

Owlkit- golden brown she-kit with amber eyes

ForestClan

Leader: Leafstar- ginger tabby she-cat with white underbelly and green eyes

Deputy: Diamondfoot- silver and black tabby she-cat with white paws and blue eyes

Medicine Cat: Shadelily- dark grey she-cat with amber eyes

Warriors: 

Longtooth- white she-cat with black stripes, yellow eyes and unusually long fangs

Spiderfur- black tom with yellow eyes

Leafpelt- tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes

Rainslash- grey tom with darker stripe across face and blue eyes

Fernstripe- silver and black tabby she-cat with blue-green eyes

Ivyvine- silver she-cat with white underbelly and green eyes

Apprentices:

Pebblepaw- pale grey tom with yellow-green eyes

Nightpaw- spiky small black tom with amber eyes

Specklepaw- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with green eyes

Queens:

Ravenlily- black she-cat with white paws and chest and blue eyes

CreekClan

Leader: Minnowstar- black-and-white she-cat with yellow eyes

Deputy: Eaglefur- light brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Medicine cat: Rippleshine- silver tabby she-cat with green eyes

Warriors: 

Rivertalon- grey tabby she-cat with white paws and blue eyes

Featherlily- pale grey tabby she-cat with black ears and blue eyes

Mousetail- brown tom with amber eyes

Hawkclaw- golden brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Scarface- extremely battle-scarred grey tom, blind in one eye

Coalfur- very dark grey tom with amber eyes

Apprentices: 

Dandelionpaw- white she-cat with gold flecks and amber eyes

Stripepaw- pale brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Queens: 

Puddlefur- pretty pale ginger tabby with blue eyes, mother to Volekit and Rosekit

Kits:

Volekit- dark brown tom with yellow eyes

Rosekit- pale ginger-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

Elders:

Cocoaface- brown she-cat with amber eyes


	4. Chapter 2

~Dawnleaf~

Chapter 2

Dawnkit's POV

We slunk out of the bracken nursery as the colours of dawn streaked the pale sky. About halfway out the camp, Stonekit stepped on a twig, cracking it. Mistkit giggled noisily enough to make sound for the three of us. She could have woken the whole camp!

"Shush, Mistkit!" Stonekit and I whispered sharply in unison.

Mistkit went silent and looked down shamefully. "Sorry," she whispered back. "Dawnkit, where are we going to hunt, again?" she added.

"BigWoods. You know, where Oaktail and Tigerwing showed us when they were still apprentices," I answered quietly. Stonekit, Mistkit and I had decided to go hunting by ourselves to try and prove our capability of becoming apprentices early. Oaktail and Tigerwing had showed us around our Clan's territory when they were apprentices, not that they were really supposed to. They also taught us a few good hunting skills. Me, Stonekit and Mistkit were only four and a half moons old, but we were ready to be apprenticed. Cloudstar would just have to see.

As we neared the edge of BigWoods, Stonekit began to shuffle his paws nervously.

"Dawnkit, are you sure this is a great idea? I mean- Petalfall and Snowypelt will sure be worried, won't they?" he questioned. I guess he was asking me since it was mostly my idea.

"Don't you want to be apprentices? Wouldn't it be awesome!?" Mistkit exclaimed, her yellow eyes gleaming in the soft morning light. I smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Yes, but-"Stonekit stopped as Mistkit bolted ahead with a surge of energy, only just missing a tree.

I came to Stonekit's side, wondering what was bothering him so much. I didn't mind the idea at all. "What's wrong?" I said.

He sighed. "I don't know. I… I guess I'm just worried we'll get caught, and our parents' will flip out when they realise we've gone..."

 _Not Petalfall_ , I thought. _She would find it amusing._ I touched him with my tail tip. "Hey, it's gonna be okay," I said. "We'll be back so soon, they won't even know we left." I smiled and hoped I was right.

"I guess you're right," Stonekit said. He paused for a moment then grinned widely. "Like always."

 _Stonekit. You keep saying these things I don't understand._ I opened my mouth to ask him what he meant, but Mistkit started yelling.

"Squirrel!" she yelped in the distance.

"Great StarClan! You'll never catch any prey _that_ way, Mistkit!" Stonekit called out to his sister.

I laughed appreciatively and followed Stonekit to the pine tree Mistkit was pawing at after a grey squirrel.

"Be quiet next time," I advised.

Mistkit nodded. "I think we should split up. It would be easier," she suggested.

Her brother nodded his head slowly in agreement. "That sounds good," he meowed, turning his deep amber gaze to me. "I'll go with Daw-"

"Why don't you come with me?" Mistkit interrupted him mid-sentence. "I mean- Dawnkit's a better hunter than us and you're good at keeping me quiet and all." She grinned in a way I would describe as nervous. But why should she be nervous? What are they keeping from me?

"Plus," she added. "I wanted to ask you something, Stonekit." She sort of glanced at me, then turned back to Stonekit. Did she just wink at him? Now I was really suspicious…

"Oh. Okay," Stonekit shrugged.

"We'll meet near Stepping Stones," I decided.

"Okay," the others agreed.

"See you," I told my secret-keeping friends, watching them bound away. Why did they think they needed to keep secrets from me? I felt like an extra sister to them. We were like kin. And I was ninety-nine percent sure they weren't telling me something…

I shook my head as I trudged through the melting snow. I would deal with this later. Tiny snowflakes fell down, sticking to my creamy fur, making it sparkle, and glistening snow sat on nice-smelling pine trees. I sighed. I loved leafbare, the beautiful snow and all, but it was leaving. It would be newleaf soon, which most cats preferred anyway for the prey and warm weather. I stopped as I saw a white pigeon waddling by a tree a few fox-lengths away from me. I almost dashed forward until I remembered the move Tigerwing showed me at camp one day. I crept forward slowly, trying not to make too much obvious noise in the crunchy snow as I positioned myself behind the bird. _I would catch this pigeon, bring it to Cloudstar, and she'd make me an apprentice. There._ I threw myself at the pigeon and tackled it to the ground with some effort. It was literally almost the size of me, a lot bigger than it looked from far away. I had expected it to sense me coming and fly away, but surprisingly it hadn't. I sank my teeth into its feathery neck and felt it go limp after it squawked a little. I dropped it on the ground. _Was it dead? Did pigeons play dead?_ I poked it. It appeared to be not very alive, but I had to be sure if I'd caught my first prey or not.

I jumped as I heard sudden laughter from behind a bush. _Who was there?_


	5. Chapter 3

~Dawnleaf~

Chapter 3

I picked up my prey to investigate. Some cat was following me… As I neared the snow-speckled bush, none other but Stonekit came out of hiding, a grin on his face, almost scaring me out of my skin.

"Stonekit? What in StarClan… I thought you went with Mistkit," I said, confused.

"Oh, yeah, about that," Stonekit began, "Mistkit, uh," he looked down. "She just asked me something, and then insisted we split up. I decided to find you."

 _Why? What did she ask you?_ I stopped myself asking. "Oh, okay," I said instead. "Where's Mistkit now?"

Stonekit shrugged. "Sorry for laughing at you just before," he blurted after a moment of silence. _What? When did he…_ Then I remembered. "It was just how you looked at the bird," he nodded at the pigeon. "As if you couldn't work out what it was."

Wait, so he was watching me the whole time? Sure, he was my friend, but why was he watching me? I felt a bit uncomfortable. "I-I just wasn't sure if I'd killed it or not," I stammered. "And by the way, I know my animals."

Stonekit frowned. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to offend you. It was a great catch. You make it look so _easy_."

"Thanks. You didn't," I replied, offering a smile. "So, want to find Mistkit?"

As Stonekit opened his mouth to answer, a deep red she-cat leapt towards us from a bush. I recognised her as Redfeather, my father's sister. _Oh no…_ We would be in so much trouble, the lecture is going to start any moment now… Redfeather _always_ told us off.

Redfeather narrowed her fierce, pale amber eyes irritably. "Just _what_ do the two of you think you're doing?"

"Hunting," I answered smartly, immediately regretting it. I knew well that Redfeather had a bad temper.

Redfeather widened her eyes in amazement at the pigeon I'd just caught for about a millisecond, and then narrowed them again. "Now, I don't care how mature you think you are, you still have one and a half moons until you're apprenticed. And another six moons of that," the warrior she-cat started. _Yup. Here we go…_ "So get back to camp before some cat realises you're gone and Cloudstar starts sending out patrols to find you. There's a good chance that's already happening so get moving!" She bared her teeth.

Stonekit and I both winced. Every cat took Redfeather quite seriously, although she'd never do any harm to her Clan mates. She could be caring and gentle at appropriate times.

"We lost Mistkit," Stonekit blurted, and then covered his mouth with a paw sheepishly. I rolled my eyes. He just couldn't keep his mouth shut, could he? Stonekit and Mistkit were a lot alike sometimes.

Redfeather rolled her pupils to the top of her head and exhaled slowly, trying to stay calm. She looked at us. "Take the pigeon." I obeyed. "Now, where's that pain-in-the-rear sister of yours," she said, more to herself than Stonekit. Stonekit and I exchanged glances. We took a moment to register the fact she was joking.

 **I'd just like to say, thanks for the follows and reviews, not that there's many, but I wasn't actually expecting any at all. I appreciate that people like this story and look forward to questions about it. :3**


	6. Chapter 4

~Dawnleaf~

Chapter 4

I crunched through light snow as I made my way across a sandy clearing dotted with trees, the place taking up most of CloudClan territory. Redfeather had sent me back to camp with my pigeon, still dangling from my jaws at a weird angle. She and Stonekit were looking for Mistkit. Tell the queens you're okay, Redfeather had said. It had somehow really just hit me at that point that I'd caught my first prey. As in, real prey, not just a piece of bark or a moss ball, but a real live creature. _Well, not so much live anymore,_ I realised as I felt the bird's flesh going colder in between my teeth. I quickened my pace; the sooner I got home, the better. The sun was now high in a slightly cloudy, blue sky. Would I be in trouble? Would my mother and father be mad? Personally, I was very proud of myself for catching a pigeon without assistance- but would Snowypelt be?

I had approached the stone wall protecting the camp. It was splotched with many shades of grey, and appeared to be an old Twoleg structure of some sort. I had always wondered what it was. Snowypelt always told me stories of bizarre things Twolegs built, but the wall worked well for our camp. A large gap stood in the middle of it, between the warriors' den and the currently unoccupied apprentices' den. I had considered going around the dirtplace, the way we'd snuck out, but decided cats would be more suspicious. There was a rocky ledge the warriors' jumped onto easily to get in the camp, but it was many times the height of me- no way was I straight up jumping up there! I was tiny for my age and wasn't the best jumper anyway. I inspected the stone wall. There were small rocks jutting out everywhere, big enough for my paws to fit on.

I made my way on to the first small ledge, wedging my left forepaw into the hole. I was forced to an awkward position, due to the weight of the plump bird. I stepped on the next one, slipping at first, then gaining my balance again. _So far, so good,_ I thought to myself as I looked down. I continued working my way up, until I reached the gap which I ungracefully scrambled up onto. I panted and looked over the edge. Great. It was at least two fox-lengths to jump down, too far for me. If I jumped properly I might not break a bone? I looked around for a branch or something to climb down carefully on. Nothing. I sat down and searched the clearing for Snowypelt. Maybe if I just sat here some warrior would notice me and help me down. I started to panic and involuntary tears stung my eyes. Why didn't I go around the dirtplace? Now I'd be stuck up here for ages. Maybe I'd even _die_ -

"Dawnkit, what in StarClan are you doing up there?" called a voice. I looked below to see Tigerwing's slender, striped ginger figure. I felt relieved. She would save me.

"Uhm, rock climbing?" I said, my voice muffled by feathers. Tigerwing laughed.

"You look stuck. Need help?" she asked.

"Yes please." I moved to the edge to get a better view of her.

"Well, my advice is to jump down," Tigerwing told me.

 _What?_ I met her luminous green eyes, shocked. "Y- You want me to just jump?" I said. "I'm not _that_ mouse-brained!"

Tigerwing chuckled. "Trust me. I fell down there when I was probably a little bit older than you are now and survived with no serious injuries."

I still wasn't sure. It was really far down to me, since I was so short. "Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah. If you start frothing at the mouth or something, I swear I'll take you straight to Frostleaf," she joked.

I was going to jump, I decided, taking a breath. "Can you take this?" I said to Tigerwing, placing down the pigeon and nudging it over the edge as she nodded. I blinked slowly and inhaled again, deeply. I shuffled my toes off the edge and leapt off, feeling my paws fly through air for a short moment until I hit hard, sandy ground. I fell to my side from the impact, but I was fine. I jumped up. My legs ached from the hard landing; the falling part was actually really fun though.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed to Tigerwing. "I'll definitely fall off there more often!"

Tigerwing laughed fondly, and passed me my pigeon. "Did you catch that all by yourself?" she asked.

I nodded, my mouth filled with feathers again.

"Awesome!" she grinned at me encouragingly, and jerked her head towards the fresh-kill pile behind her. "You should put it over there."

I nodded again, and ran over to the pile of prey, dropping the pigeon on top. I spat feathers out of my mouth, and then smiled to myself. Maybe Snowypelt would be proud of me. Today I caught a pigeon and jumped off a cliff! Well, that's an exaggeration and sneaking out of camp was definitely bad, but at least I did _something_ good.


	7. Chapter 5

~Dawnleaf~

Chapter 5

"Thanks," I meowed to Tigerwing.

"For what?" she answered, amused. "I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you…" I started, only to realise she only advised me to jump down and I did the rest myself. I shook my head. "Never mind. Where's Snowypelt?"

Tigerwing shrugged. "The nursery?"

I wasn't sure, but decided to check anyway. "Bye, Tigerwing."

"Bye!"

I bounded over to the nursery. "Snowypelt!" I yelled into the space. Nobody answered. I was going to look someplace else until I saw Angelkit. She blinked sleep from her eyes, looking slightly annoyed. Oops. I must have woken her.

"Snowypelt and Petalfall are at HighStump," she explained groggily. HighStump was a hollow stump, our meeting place and Cloudstar's den was the inside of it. "Where did you go today anyway?" she demanded.

I swallowed, thinking about how mad she'd be if I told her we went hunting without her. I stammered, unsure of what to tell her. "We uhmm… I-"

"What made you think you could go hunting without me?" Angelkit snapped.

 _Why would she want to?_ Maybe that's what Stonekit was trying to say that day we played moss ball. Perhaps Angelkit was jealous that I hung out with her littermates and she didn't. Well, it would help if she wasn't such a jerk in the first place. "How did you even know we left?" I wondered aloud.

"You think I couldn't hear Mistkit? Seriously, she made enough sound for a whole Clan!" Angelkit snorted.

 _Oh…_ I had thought we were being sneaky and quiet, to leave that early and all. Apparently not. "Well, I'm going to see Snowypelt now. Thanks! See ya, Angelkit!"

"Wait a minute; I'm not finished with you!"

I scooted out of the nursery and ran in the direction of HighStump. Angelkit was crazy if she thought I fancied the idea of listening to her be crabby at me. I could see Snowypelt and Petalfall sitting at the base of the den with Cloudstar. I stopped. They didn't know I was here, I thought as I watched Stormheart approach the she-cats. I snuck behind HighStump; I was going to listen to their conversation. The leader and deputy had gone inside. I pricked my ears and pressed one against the wood curiously.

"Stormheart, they're just kits. You can't blame them for wanting to be adventurous," meowed Cloudstar's voice. I had always liked her voice. It was deeper than any other she-cats' in the Clan. Was she talking about me and my friends?

"I suppose it was that Dawnkit's idea wasn't it?" Stormheart said my name with such distaste that I winced inward a little. "We should have left her in the forest while we had the chance!"

 _What?_ My heart thumped hard in my chest. He wanted to leave me in the _forest_? What did I ever do to him? I had heard enough, so I started to make my way to the front of HighStump.

I heard Cloudstar gasp and dismiss her deputy, telling him something about being disrespectful to his Clan mates. I could hear Snowypelt's and Petalfall's murmuring voices as I approached.

"Snowypelt!" I yelled, running at her and crashing into her pretty white fur. She fell over in shock.

My mother looked at me with both worry and relief filling her large, blue eyes. "Great StarClan! Where have you been for the past few hours?! I was worried sick!" she exclaimed worriedly, covering me in rasping licks.

"I'm sorry," I apologised, for some reason in a low voice. "We thought that if we went hunting alone, Cloudstar would let us be apprentices."

Snowypelt looked sort of sympathetic. She was going to say something, then Petalfall stepped forward, the usual smile on her face.

"Kit logic these days. Usually you have to wait until you're six moons old, mouse-brains," she teased, amusement lighting up her blue eyes. "So where's my troublesome children?" she asked me. As I expected, she didn't really sound worried. That's what I liked about Petalfall; she never got worked up about things, unlike my mother.

"Well, Redfeather found me and Stonekit and they're looking for Mistkit now," I explained.

Snowypelt stared at me with wide eyes. "So Mistkit's lost?"

"No. I don't know. Maybe."

"Honestly, Dawnkit! You shouldn't have gone out by yourselves in the first place, but you could have at least stayed together! Now Mistkit is lost and…" My mother trailed off, beginning to knead her paws into the dirt.

"Sweetie, I think you're being paranoid," Petalfall mewed, leaning on her shoulder. "Kits will do kit things. I remember you and I snuck out when we were their age."

"That's because you bribed me with the catmint!" huffed Snowypelt.

Petalfall laughed, memories coming back to her. "Oh, yes. But my point is, Mistkit will be fine. And she's my problem, not yours. Right, Dawnkit?"

"Right, _Mum_ ," I agreed, looking at my mother.

Snowypelt seethed. "You're a bad influence on my daughter."

Petalfall laughed again airily. "Come on. Let's go see if they are coming back yet." She flicked her ears towards the camp entrance.

I followed the queens as we moved across the camp, past the medicine and elders' den.

"Oh, Snowypelt?" I said, facing her.

"Yes?"

"I caught a pigeon."

Snowypelt paused. "You didn't."

"Yeah, I did. It's over on the fresh-kill pile."

"I don't believe you," she said, but she was smiling at me proudly.

"I've seen her practising hunting moves with Stonekit and Mistkit and I hate to neglect my kits, but I noticed how much better Dawnkit was." Petalfall looked at me, "You seem like a very good hunter," She praised.

I scuffled my paws as I walked. "Well, I guess Tigerwing and Oaktail taught me a few things," I said modestly.

"Private lessons as a kit? My, you'll be quite the warrior won't you?" Snowypelt remarked, butting me gently with her nose. I grinned. She _was_ proud of me!

We stopped at the rock wall. "So how'd you get over that?" Petalfall asked.

"I jumped," I said. I wanted to see their reaction.

The queens both stared at me. "You're too small to jump over there!" they exclaimed in unison.

I smiled. "I climbed onto it, then jumped into camp. I wasn't going to, but Tigerwing told me," I told them.

Snowypelt shook her head, smiling and murmuring to herself.

At that moment, Redfeather and Stonekit scrambled over the wall and into the camp, panicky expressions on both their faces. I started to panic too, by how worried they looked. _Where was Mistkit?_

Stonekit ran over to me. "What's happened?" I asked him.

He creased his brow. "We need to set up a patrol. We can't find Mistkit _anywhere_ ," he declared. I gasped. Mistkit was missing!


	8. Chapter 6

~Dawnleaf~

 **Chapter 6**

Cloudstar sprung onto HighStump and sat down comfortably next to her deputy, Stormheart.

"All cats of CloudClan gather here beneath HighStump for a Clan meeting!" she yowled, loud enough for the whole camp to hear.

I watched as cats of all ages clambered around the stump den to hear what our leader was going to say. I already knew what the meeting was going to be about; me, Mistkit and Stonekit. Mostly Mistkit, but about our punishment as well. Wouldn't being humiliated in front of the whole Clan be enough of a punishment? I sighed. Now I was really regretting leaving camp. Cloudstar would probably delay our apprenticeship and where in the world was Mistkit?

Stonekit, who was sitting at my side, seemed to sense my insecurities and looked at me. "Are you worried about Mistkit?" his voice cracked slightly, giving me the impression he was definitely worried.

"I'm worried about everything," I admitted.

He looked down. "We shouldn't have gone," he said quietly.

I sighed again. "I know! I'm a stupid mouse-brain and I shouldn't have ignored you," I said guiltily. "…I'm sorry." Now I would get both my friends in trouble with my dumb idea and we'd have to wait even longer to be apprentices. I felt so bad.

"It's not your fault-"

"Yes it is!" I argued. "It was my idea to go, so it was!"

"Kits! Shush!" Hissed Snowypelt's voice behind us.

I stopped and looked around, realising nearly the whole Clan was staring at Stonekit and I. I blushed under my pelt. Great, I'd already embarrassed myself and the meeting hadn't even started!

Cloudstar cleared her throat. "When these young cats finish their little discussion, I suppose we may begin," she meowed, looking at us pointedly. I stared down at my paws, aware of my Clan mates' gazes burning into me.

A few seconds of silence passed before the white-furred leader spoke again. "A few of you may already know of the kits that snuck out of camp this morning," she said. I blushed even more as cats started whispering disapprovingly.

Cloudstar paused until the noise died down. "You can most likely guess who they were-"

"Not me!" shouted Angelkit from the front. She looked over her shoulder at me with a smug expression on her face. What was with her?

"Silence!" yelled Stormheart angrily. I cringed. This was getting a bit crazy.

"Thank you for that, Stormheart, Angelkit," Cloudstar mewed, eyeing them both sternly, especially Stormheart. "As I was saying," she continued. "The three of them left to go hunting and now, one kit is missing. I'll need volunteers to patrol around for her."

A number of cats raised their voices. "Goldenstripe," she said. I flinched at my father's name. I hadn't even seen him, what was wrong with me? "You will lead. Take Icefur, Echoheart and Tigerwing with you."

The four cats nodded importantly. "…And bring Stonekit and Dawnkit with you also. They know where Mistkit was last," Cloudstar added. Stonekit and I exchanged glances, surprised. Why did Cloudstar want us to go after we'd disobeyed the warrior code?

She must have seen our expressions because then she spoke again. "We will discuss your punishment later. At the moment, finding Mistkit is our top priority." We nodded and Cloudstar looked at Goldenstripe. "Leave now. Meeting dismissed!" She jumped off of HighStump and all the other cats broke away, whispering to one other.

I turned to Snowypelt as Goldenstripe, Icefur, Echoheart and Tigerwing came towards us.

"Be careful. Do as the warriors tell you and watch out for thorns," Snowypelt told me. As she started giving me other motherly instructions, Stonekit smirked at me.

"Got it, Mum," I said, embarrassed. I licked her ear and walked nearer to the patrol, Stonekit following me. Did Snowypelt not understand she always embarrassed me in front of my friends? "See you!" I called. She called goodbye back and moved towards the front of the nursery with Petalfall.

Stonekit started to laugh. "Don't step on any thorns!" He teased, mimicking my mum.

My skin burned. "Shut up. …You galumphing badger!" I said, blurting out the first insult that came to my head.

That only made Stonekit laugh even harder. "So I look like a badger to you?" He puffed out his chest. "Last time I checked, I was a lot more handsome than that."

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help smirking. "Whatever," I said.

Goldenstripe came over to us. "Hello. So you're back from your little… excursion," he remarked, looking at me and Stonekit in turn.

Was he mad at me? I stammered. "I- I… I thought I was being good, I-"

Goldenstripe chuckled. "It's okay, Dawnkit. I'm not mad at you. I know lots of cats who ran away as kits."

"Oh. Good," I replied, relieved.

"Let's go!" Goldenstripe called to the rest, flicking his tail, and we followed him across the camp, his stripy golden fur shining in the afternoon sunlight.

We climbed over the Wall, me getting over with the help of the warriors. As we trudged through the small forest part of territory around our camp, Stonekit leaned towards me.

"The thorns…" he hissed in a spooky tone. "Watch out for the thorns…"

I pushed him away, but couldn't seem to help scanning the ground for prickles. There would be a problem if I came back with a thorn stuck in my paw. Snowypelt would make a big deal out of it and then Stonekit would never let it go.

Stonekit looked at me quizzically. "Wait, are you actually looking for them now?" he asked, looking very amused.

I frowned. "…No," I lied. _Well that was_ very _convincing_ , I thought.

Stonekit laughed again, but suddenly tripped forward, landing with a thump on the forest floor.

"Oof!"

The patrol stopped and spun around. It was my turn to laugh as I saw how ridiculous my friend looked sprawled across the muddy ground, somehow having mud and leaves spattered over him.

"What just happened?" asked Tigerwing. Then the orange tabby narrowed her bright green eyes questioningly. "Did you just push him over?"

"No-"I started.

"I fell over myself," Stonekit muttered, sitting up and starting to clean his chest fur. He stopped abruptly, holding up his left front paw to examine it.

"What is it?" I asked, taking a step forward to see what it was.

He showed me his paw. It had a tiny bleeding tear in the middle of his pad. "I think I got a prickle," he whispered to me.

I burst into laughter. Just after he was telling _me_ to watch out for thorns!

Icefur glared at us with his sea-green eyes. "Kits! Hurry up," he scolded, and then looked at Stonekit. "Do you want to find your sister or what?"

Stonekit nodded, and then bent his neck to pull the tiny thorn out of his paw. I stared at him with wide eyes. _Mouse-brain._ He should have gone back to camp to see Frostleaf. There'd probably be no time for that though. But now his pad would be bleeding the whole time.

"Why'd you do that, mouse-brain?" I said to him as we continued walking.

Stonekit rolled his eyes at me teasingly. "I couldn't just leave it in there."

I rolled my eyes back at him. It was his problem.

"Hurry up!" called one tom's voice.

We trotted up to join the others as they emerged into the sandy clearing glittering with early afternoon light.

 **I am bad at ending chapters :P Please review, if you can. I would appreciate it if you just say what you think. Stonekit is probably going to have an obsession with prickles now…**


	9. Chapter 7

~Dawnleaf~

 **Chapter 7**

We all stopped at the edge of BigWoods, the sun beating down on us. On our way across the clearing, I had noticed the snow had melted over the day and it was getting quite warm.

"Where did you see Mistkit last?" Goldenstripe asked us. I looked at Stonekit expectantly, for he was the one with her last. Slowly, everyone else followed my gaze.

"This way." Stonekit started to lead the patrol, apparently forgetting all about the thorn he had just ripped out of his paw, towards an area hidden by trees, with a few large grey boulders sitting around. It looked sort of like a tiny camp.

Stonekit sat by one of the boulders and flicked his ear. "We were talking here, but then we split up to hunt."

"Well, where did she go, then?" Echoheart demanded impatiently. He looked really tired, I realised. Why did he even come on patrol?

"Have some patience, Echoheart," Goldenstripe soothed. "We're all tired. So where did she go, child?" He said, looking at Stonekit again.

Stonekit went quiet, shuffling his paws and staring down shamefully. "I… I don't know. I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." For some reason, he glanced up at me, in a way asking me for help. So, if I had no clue where Mistkit went, and Stonekit wasn't paying attention, would we ever find her? Where would Mistkit be? I tried to imagine, but then Echoheart let out a scary growl, breaking my thoughts.

"Well that's just great," he growled sarcastically. He added, dropping his voice to a mutter, "You're all wasting my time when I could be having a good nap." Echoheart slunk off into a clump of bushes.

"I'll get him," Tigerwing offered. Icefur and Goldenstripe both opened their mouths to object, but the tabby she-cat was already bounding off, calling Echoheart's name.

"Well," Icefur stated. "There goes half of our patrol." He stared in the direction the two cats went. "They'll come back," he added, seeing Stonekit's miserable expression.

Stonekit frowned even further. I never realised we'd be so lost without Mistkit.

"Maybe its best we split up," Goldenstripe said to end the silence. "We'll cover more land." Icefur nodded, making a sound of agreement. Goldenstripe looked at Stonekit and me. "So, since neither of you know where your friend is, maybe we'll just have to guess." I stopped myself cringing at the slight anger in my father's voice. He had just told me he wasn't angry…

I looked at Stonekit and he looked at me. "Me and Redfeather searched literally _everywhere_." Stonekit replied.

"Only on CloudClan territory," Icefur said, causing Goldenstripe to give him a surprised look.

"You're suggesting that Mistkit is on another Clan's territory?" Goldenstripe questioned. Stonekit and I exchanged worried glances. If Mistkit was on another Clan's territory, she could be _doomed_. We had to find her.

"Perhaps. You know how ForestClan is these days. Always in need of new warriors," Icefur said absent-mindedly. Then he frowned in confusion at his sentence. "Wait."

"Mistkit could be _stolen_?!" Stonekit and I exclaimed in unison.

"But that's horrible!" I said. "They can't take away Mistkit, she's CloudClan!" I felt my eyes sting with tears. What if ForestClan _had_ stolen Mistkit? They'd train her to be a ForestClan warrior and we'd never become 'paws together like we always had planned. Why were the Clans so mean to one other all the time?

"We have got to get her back!" Stonekit added.

Icefur looked like we had gone wild, which we may have appeared so. Stonekit's fur was fluffed up in a worried manner and his amber eyes were wide. "That's not necessarily true!" Icefur claimed. "I was giving a possibility." Stonekit relaxed a little bit, but I was still unsure. Where else could Mistkit be?

Goldenstripe looked thoughtful. "I can't think of anywhere else for a kit to be… Come one. It's worth a look."

I kind of envied the way the older cats kept so calm in situations like these. Goldenstripe started to lead us deeper into the woods.

"What about Echoheart and Tigerwing?" I asked. We couldn't just leave them.

"We might see them on the way," Icefur suggested. "They'll be fine otherwise anyway, they're responsible enough for themselves."

I nodded and glanced at Stonekit. He looked as miserable as ever, dragging his feet as he walked and frowning with a sad look in his eyes.

"Quit sulking, we'll find your sister," Goldenstripe scolded, making Stonekit pick up his feet a little. "We're professionals, kits always sneak out of the nursery and we always find them. Trust me," he said reassuringly.

"But ForestClan could have _kidnapped_ her," Stonekit protested. I guessed he didn't understand how calm the warriors were about it either, like me.

"Please don't argue with me," Goldenstripe meowed more harshly. "I told you we _will_ find her."

Stonekit grumbled to himself, but other than that kept quiet.

After a few more moments of walking, I smelled something funny.

"What's that?" I asked, wondering aloud

"The smell?" Goldenstripe said and I nodded. "That's ForestClan's scent markers. We've crossed the border," he explained.

 _Scent markers…_ I wondered vaguely, not entirely understanding that. Wait- we crossed the border? Did that mean we were in ForestClan territory? I'd never crossed territories before and I never thought I'd need to.

Up ahead, I saw two figures crouching behind a blackberry bush. One cat had black and white fur; the other was a ginger tabby, from what I could see. They must have been Tigerwing and Echoheart, but what where they doing here?

Icefur must have spotted them before me because he said to Goldenstripe, "Looks like they beat us to it." Then the warriors told us to move quickly and quietly over to them. So we snuck over and settled beside them.

"She's over there," Tigerwing quietly told the patrol and Stonekit and I. Yay! Mistkit was okay! I nudged Stonekit and he smiled softly at me.

"They can probably see that," Echoheart hissed grumpily.

I strained my neck to see Mistkit through the leaves, but it wasn't really working.

"I think we should take these two back to camp," Icefur whispered, nudging me and Stonekit. "We might need to fight ForestClan and that ain't going to be a pretty sight for these youngsters."

"Are you kidding me? I wanna see _all_ the action!" Stonekit exclaimed, a little too loudly.

"No you don't, kiddo," Tigerwing said gently. "It's probably best." Goldenstripe murmured an agreement.

"Just take them away then," Echoheart growled quietly. "And make him quieten down before the ForestClan warriors come out and flay him alive."

Stonekit and I shrunk back, alarmed. We had no idea what 'flay' meant but it didn't sound good. Echoheart let out an evil snort.

Icefur glared at the younger warrior for a second, and then pushed us along with his tail. "If anyone's going to be flayed, it's you," he muttered to Echoheart, not that he could hear from our distance at that point.

I split my jaws apart in an enormous yawn as we reached the camp. My paws were aching and I was exhausted after today. Surprisingly, Icefur just let us go to straight to the nursery to sleep. I thought we would have to speak to Cloudstar about our punishment, but maybe we'd do all that tomorrow because it was almost night time anyway. Stonekit and I walked to the nursery, where the queens were already asleep, and flopped into our nest with exhaustion. I used to share a nest with my mother, but the queens eventually thought we were all old enough to share one nest; Mistkit, Stonekit and I. You'd think one nest couldn't fit all three of us inside, but it was quite large, really. It felt so empty with no Mistkit beside us…

"I hope Mistkit's okay," Stonekit murmured to me after a moment.

"She'll be fine," I reassured my friend tiredly. "We'll wake up tomorrow and Mistkit will be sleeping right next to us, like always."

"I hope so," Stonekit replied. He paused. "Dawnkit?"

"Yes?"

"Will we be friends forever?" he asked me.

Why would he say that? I mean, I hoped we would but how could we determine that at our age? Things would happen later in our lives that may change friendships.

"I guess," I answered.

"We should all make an oath to each other, saying we'll be friends for all our lives, no matter what happens," Stonekit proposed.

Where did all that come from? Was he referring to Mistkit? "So… Like, if one of us dies, the other two will still be friends and stuff like that?" I asked, confused.

"Something like that. We'll have to make more rules," he said. "We can only do it properly when Mistkit gets back though."

"Okay," I responded. I still didn't fully understand what he meant and why he was even thinking of this now. Wouldn't we make other friends throughout our lives?

"Do you promise?"

"Promise what?" I asked. "You said we couldn't do it properly until Mistkit is with us." I got a lump in my throat with saying that. Some part of me didn't believe Mistkit was coming back. Which of course, she was. She _had_ to.

"It won't hurt you doing it now," Stonekit told me, his voice getting sleepier and sleepier. "Just promise." He yawned.

I stayed silent for a few moments. "I promise," I whispered. I looked at Stonekit, wondering why he didn't answer, but he appeared to already be asleep.

I grunted. I think Stonekit had gone weird. And why had he made me say that I promised when Mistkit wasn't even here? Did he suspect I was going to betray him in the future or something? I still don't really know what I even promised to. I sighed. I wasn't going to sleep tonight, was I? I would just keep thinking about Mistkit, Stonekit's oath and what our punishment would be. My thoughts led to the occasional topics of 'flaying', prickles, catching pigeons and other things that happened throughout the long day. At some point, I just remembered about Mistkit and Stonekit's secret from me. I had forgotten to ask Stonekit! Oh well. That was just another thing we could add to our oath.

Still, after hours and hours, I lay awake.

 **I hope this is an okay chapter length, because someone told me I should make the chapters longer, which I agree with. Dawnkit should go to sleep or she might die of exhaustion. And Stonekit… I think his brain got damaged because he didn't see Mistkit for a few hours. Maybe when he sees her again, he'll chill out a bit. So, what do people think of their oath? And what do you think will happen with Mistkit?**


End file.
